By Alicia Mmashakana
Home Affairs Director-General Tommy Makhode has revealed that despite the fact that a study visa typically takes eight weeks to process, a Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) officer authorised the visa applications for the 95 Libyans in three days.
According to Makhode, the Dirco official confirmed that 95 visas had been issued to Libyan nationals to train at the academy in White River, Mpumalanga. When asked verbally, the official also admitted that she did not consult, seek advice, or obtain any authorisation from the Department of Home Affairs.
Makhode said their preliminary investigation found a lot of irregularities in the issuance of the visas, with some – which were valid until December – handwritten because the departmental system was offline.
The Libyans made news headlines after they were found undergoing military training in Mpumalanga. They were arrested but the State withdrew charges of Contravening the Immigration Act, against them after they produced the study visas.
Makhode said the Libyans’ study visas were also authorised in spite of the fact that they lacked security clearance, medical insurance, home addresses and proof of funds to help sustain themselves while in South Africa.
He also told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday, that because of a lack of resources at the Home Affairs Department, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) officials were required to assist in the processing of visa applications.
“We are operating at 39.9% capacity and we don’t cover the rest of the world in terms of missions so we rely on Dirco officials,” said Makhode.
The DG also said South Africa does not have a mission in Libya, so Libyans planning to visit the country must apply for visas in neighbouring countries.
Makhode said that the department had to shoulder some of the blame because it only operated with half of the staff it needed and didn’t have enough resources to deploy officials to all of South Africa’s 115 foreign missions.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said to address issues such as identity fraud – which pose a threat to national security – requires a complete digital transformation of Home Affairs systems into those of a department that prioritises technology.
If we do not take bold steps now to turn Home Affairs into a digital-first department that closes the gap for human intervention, we will be wasting each other’s time for the next five years, Schreiber told the portfolio committee.
He said that Home Affairs systems are vulnerable to fraud, corruption and discretion because they are outdated, antiquated, paper-based, manual and, therefore, open to subversion.
“How can South Africa regard itself as a serious nation when we still allow entrance into our country based on hand-written documents that even a child could forge?” Schreiber asked.
The `libyans were at the weekend with the Libyan government paying for their flights to Tripoli.
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